It Started Like This
by eris-ed95
Summary: If you'd walked into the Great Hall on that fateful Saturday, you could have asked anyone and they would have told you what was only common knowledge about the two – She hated him. He loathed her. But you see, love doesn't follow the rules.


**Author's Notes:**

for dracosexgod on tumblr, as a secret santa gift.  
I hope you enjoy this, Maya! (sorry it's so late!)

This is actually both my first Dramione fic and first fic in the HP verse, (& it hasn't been beta'd oops) so sorry if anything is too OOC or if it's just plain horrible.  
also sorry for the horrible title just pretend there isn't one*hides in corner*

[update - 1.17.14: fixed some basic grammar+spelling errors]

* * *

It ended with a kiss.

If you asked Hermione, she would say it was all Pansy's fault, that sly witch. (But secretly she wouldn't mind.)

If you asked Draco, he might scowl and mutter something about that dratted Potter & his Weasel and their inability to keep their noses out of others' business. (But secretly he'd be happy.)

Truth be told, though, both could take the blame.

* * *

If you'd walked into the Great Hall on that fateful Saturday, you could have asked anyone and they would have told you what was only common knowledge about the two –

She hated him. He loathed her.

But you see, love doesn't follow the rules.

* * *

It started when bright green leaves had donned shades of bright reds and yellows, and then altogether fallen off of the trees scattered around the campgrounds. It started at Hagrid's hut.

Those who had survived after the war had been allowed to return to Hogwarts and 'redo' their seventh year. Hermione, of course, jumped at the chance, dragging along the rather reluctant Ron and Harry with her. (She was surprised, however, when she saw that Draco had returned as well.)

An impromptu invitation from Hagrid for tea was the reason Harry, Ron, and Hermione were currently bundled up in their warmest cloaks and scarves and mittens, shivering in the cold while waiting for the door to open.

"Hagrid," Harry shouted. "Open up! It's us!"

A few minutes later, there was a thud and grumbled profanities, then Hagrid's hairy face came into view, a sharp cut running from underneath his eye to his ear.

"Hagrid!" Hermione exclaimed. "How in the world did you manage that?"

"It's not like he's done it on purpose, Hermione," Ron said, slipping inside and plonking down on the couch situated next to the fire.

"Hagrid," said Harry suspiciously, "you aren't hiding another baby dragon or something, are you?"

Ron snorted as Hagrid chuckled nervously, and promptly changed the subject. After a while, Hermione zoned out. For a long time, she couldn't forgive Ronald for walking out on them, almost a year ago with the start of this winter. They'd made their amends and she could look him in the eye now, and thankfully things were almost back to normal. But her feelings for him would never quite be the same again.

She wasn't disappointed when she'd found out that Ron and Pansy (of all people) had gotten together about a month after the start of the term. They'd been awfully cosy during the first three weeks of term, then to everybody's surprise, one crisp winter morning, Pansy strolled into the Great Hall, a dishevelled Ron in tow, attracting the stares of everyone in the room. Unbothered, she'd just continued her strut towards the Gryffindor table and then plomped down between Harry and Ginny, a satisfied smirk on her face. (No one really sat at their own House tables anymore, not since the war.)

Harry'd wrinkled his nose.

"Well," Ginny had said loudly, "now that you two've got yourselves sorted out - have you lot heard about the Christmas party?"

With a dazed look on his face, Ron said " That sounds nice, doesn't it guys? Pansy, what do you think?"

"Try to contain your drooling, Ronald," Ginny had said dryly.

Pansy chuckled._ She wasn't actually half bad_, Hermione mused. Hermione didn't resent her - her feelings for Ron were all in the past now, and if anything, Pansy would keep Ron grounded._ If you disregard the occasional haughtiness ... she's actually a good friend when you need one, and she hasn't left Draco's side since they'd returned to Hogwarts, that's saying something, isn't it?_.

For Draco, ever since he'd come back, had been moody and cranky - and that was on a good day.

Hermione had tried, she had, to put aside her feelings for those in Slytherin house, to welcome them all with open arms, but Draco just did not seem to want to budge.

Now that Pansy seemed to be at the Gryffindor table constantly, Draco had reluctantly taken up residence there as well, though he would only shoot furtive glances at the others and occasionally mutter some insult usually directed towards Hermione.

She didn't understand what she'd done to deserve this treatment - or at least, why she was being singled out more than the others.

_Maybe he's different with Pansy, there's no way one person can constantly be this grumpy._

"Hermione," a voice sang, breaking Hermione out of her current reverie. It was Pansy.

"So, I heard you've got a secret admirer," she said, a worrying glint in her eyes. "And they've asked me to give the you this." She handed Hermione a slip of paper.

A secret admirer? She was sure Pansy was just playing the fool.

Pansy seemed to guess what she was thinking, and said, "Trust me, hon, even if I were lying about this, I'm sure another one of your lover boys would be ready to pretend this is theirs."

"Uh, thank you?" Hermione blushed, warily unfolding the piece of paper. (She might have a point, though. Ever since the war, boys had been looking at her differently. She wasn't just know-it-all Hermione anymore. Of course, this was another thing Malfoy constantly brought up, a disgruntled look on his face like he didn't approve.)

Startled, she shook her head slightly. _Where had that thought come from? And why should Draco approve anyways?_

Pansy crooked her head, her gaze calculating. Then, she laughed lightly, and said, "Of course, I understand you must be new to this. Personally, boys have been lining up for me since I was born, so I wouldn't know how you felt." Then, she flounced away, calling over her shoulder, "And I suggest you wear something nice."

* * *

Ron supposed he deserved this for choosing to be with the most manipulative girl at school.

"That doesn't mean you have to drag me along," Harry complained.

"C'mon Harry! How many times have you dragged me along to do something? _Remember the spiders?_" He was never going to let that one go.

"Fine," Harry grumbled, "But why Draco, of all people?"

"Because," Ron explained patiently, "I think the git deserves something nice. It's Christmas, Harry! Where's your Christmas spirit?" He was actually here because Pansy had tricked him into it, but he wasn't about to let anyone know that.

"I must've left it in the warmth of my bed, when you woke me up _at 5 o'clock in the morning_."

"Oh quit your complaining, Potty," Ron said jovially. "Now shhh, it's time."

Sure enough, Draco was walking up the stairs to the owlery, a small package in hand.

"And you're sure this will work, Ron?" Harry whispered.

"Shh - oh hey, Malfoy."

Malfoy frowned at the two suspiciously. "What're you two potheads doing here?"

"We're making polyjuice potion ... what do you think we're doing, Malfoy? We're delivering a letter," Harry rolled his eyes.

Ron jabbed Harry in the ribs. "Ouch! Okay, sorry, we have something for you okay," Harry said, rubbing his chest.

Malfoy just raised an eyebrow. "How am I to know you haven't jinxed it or something?"

"Malfoy, just trust us this once, okay? It's on Pansy's orders, if that makes you feel any better."

He rolled his eyes, snatching the paper out of Ron's hand. "It's funny that you think I might actually read what's on this," Malfoy drawled. "Hey, uh - where's your darling Mudblood friend? Too busy chaperoning the house elves?" he sneered.

At this, Harry growled. "Watch your mouth, Malfoy."

Ron guessed this was how he showed his affection though, the poor git. _He probably'd never felt love in his life, he thought, and was now releasing it by acting weirdly obsessive over Hermione's every action (he'd noticed things too, alright?) and going out of his way to insult her._

So, being the superior being that he was, he dragged Harry out of the owlery, saying "I'm sure you'll do what the paper says, Malfoy? I mean, you could choose to ignore it, but it's your loss."

* * *

"We've done what you asked, Parkinson," Potter's voice came floating up to her. She looked up to see him and Ron approaching. "And now I'm going to go to the party with Ginny, you have a fun time spying on Hermione and Malfoy, or whatever the hell it is you two do for fun."

"Whatever you want, Potter. At least it's more action than you'll ever get," Pansy smirked.

Harry went red, "Sh - shut up! We're waiting for the right time, okay?"

"Ughg," Ron moaned. "I don't want to hear another word about my sister's sex life, okay?"

"You mean her _non-existent_ one?" Pansy said smugly, causing Ron to groan again and Harry to roll his eyes and mutter something about the merits of taking it slow.

"Golden Boy," Pansy whispered under her breath, grinning innocently up at Ron when he shot her a look. He sighed.

"Don't listen to her Harry, she's just joking, now get out," Ron said, shooing him away.

"Right," said Pansy, "the other two lovebirds should have met up in the courtyard by now, if they know what's good for them."

"So, are we just going to let fate do it's thing?" Ron asked.

"Oh, Merlin, no. Those two idiots would mess this up even without saying anything ... no, they're going to need a bit of_ help_." She grinned. "You head on up to the Christmas Party, I'll meet you there, alright?" Pecking a kiss to his cheek, she turned and sauntered off.

* * *

Pansy hoped for her sake and for theirs that Hermione and Draco hadn't screwed anything up by now. She hid behind a column, where she could just catch sight of Hermione and Draco.

To her relief, they seemed to be doing fine without her.

Hermione seemed to have taken Pansy's words to heart, and was wearing a (beautiful, Pansy might call it, if she thought no one was listening) dark red dress, simple, yet long and flowing, with a deep neckline and sleeves that came up to her elbows. She'd even done her hair, something similar to how she'd done it during the Yule Ball, except now she wearing it down, her brown locks cascading down her shoulders. Draco was wearing charcoal dress robes, with dark green trim that accentuated his eyes, and currently had a hand on Hermione's waste. His other clasped hers as they twirled around the room, waltzing to the music from the party which could be faintly heard here.

Pansy took a moment to realize that Draco was dancing, and moreover, he looked like he was enjoying himself for the first time in years.

_He must've finally stopped being such a dumb arse_, Pansy mused, _and stopped pretending his feelings for Hermione __was hatred_.

Because, she could see now, the look on Draco's face showed anything but hatred - it was pure affection, and longing, a look so tender she felt like she was invading his privacy. There was a small smile on his face, and as he gazed down at her, his thumb grazing her lips, she could faintly hear his words.

"Hermione, I... "

"Yes, Draco?" Hermione said after a long gap of silence, looking up at him. She'd been smiling too, unable to contain herself. But now her worry was starting to show.

"Nothing, it's just, you, uh - well, you made a good choice with this dress."

Pansy resisted hitting herself on the head, or better yet, hitting Draco on the head. _'A good choice with this dress', Draco, is that really all you've got?! Salazaar, help me._

Hermione smiled tentatively, and then said shyly, "I like this." She gestured between them, then laughed nervously. "That probably makes no sense, I just mean- "

Surprised, Draco let out a startled laugh. "No," he interrupted, "I get it. And - me, uh, me too."

_These idiots, good lord._ Pansy rolled her eyes at this exchange. _Time to take matters into my own hand_, she decided. She drew out her wand, creating snow above their heads.

"Oh, ah, it's snowing! Draco," she cut off with a small sneeze.

"Are you cold?" Draco demanded suddenly, "here, let's go inside." He draped an arm around her, and they stumbled into the castle.

Pansy whispered a few choice words, and Hermione tripped on nothing and fell into Draco, both hitting the ground with a slight thud.

"Ah - oops! Oh, no, Draco, I'm so sorry!" Hermione tried to lift herself up, but Draco didn't let her, arms going around her from underneath.

"Don't be," he said, smiling, "I'm fine." He leaned up, hesitantly, as if to see if she would pull away. When she didn't, he captured her lips. Hermione sighed softly into his mouth.

They lay there for quite a while, hands exploring, mapping out new parts of each other, storing away information into their memories, making up for lost time.

Pansy hid a smile behind her hands, turning and walking up the stairs into the Great Hall. Her work here was done.

* * *

**End Notes: **

ehehe

I like to think of Draco as a mixture of smooth and completely awkward. yeah. Hence his utter lack of sense when it comes to talking with Hermione. (But he was pretty suave when he kissed her, wouldn't you say?)  
yes i know, i sort of skimped with the kissing scene and didn't have anything from Draco's POV, but if someone wants maybe I'll add a chapter?

Well, Maya, I hope you liked it! Sorry that I posted it so late, I was out for longer than I'd expected!

[update - 1.19.14: i'm thinking of adding another two chapters to this one, so be on the look out for that! one is going to be some more good ol' dramione fluff (and i'll actually show them interacting more, i promise] and then the other, because i didn't realize i loved them so much but i do, is going to be ron/pansy fluff :D i hope you'll like it c: ]

come find me on archiveofourown ( eris_ed) or on tumblr ( knightpotter)!


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